"[W]e are the makers of our own lives. There is no such thing as fate. Our lives are the
result of our previous actions, our Karma. And it naturally follows that having been
ourselves the makers of our Karma, we must also be able to unmake it." Swami Vivekananda (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 9, Lectures and Discourses, The First Step Towards Jnana)

Karma described by Vedanta is often misunderstood as a form of predestination, i.e. a
person has no control over their life because it is predetermined by their previous karma
in this life and in past lives. It may be true that where you are now is determined by your
past actions, but more importantly, where you will be is determined by your current
actions. Your future is not predestined. It may be affected by your past actions in this
life and in previous births, but your future is determined by your actions or karma at
present. Hence, the concepts of karma do not necessitate a pessimistic view of life with
no control. In contrast, the law of karma states that you indeed have control over your
future by the actions or karma that you do now.

"This is the law of Karma. Each one of us is the maker of his own fate. This law knocks
on the head at once all doctrines of predestination and fate and gives us the only means of
reconciliation between God and man. We, we, and none else, are responsible for what
we suffer. We are the effects, and we are the causes. We are free therefore. If I am
unhappy, it has been of my own making, and that very thing shows that I can be happy if
I will. If I am impure, that is also of my own making, and that very thing shows that I
can be pure if I will. The human will stands beyond all circumstance. Before it — the
strong, gigantic, infinite will and freedom in man — all the powers, even of nature, must
bow down, succumb, and become its servants. This is the result of the law of Karma."
(The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 3, Lectures From Colombo to
Almora, Vedantism)

"Therefore the better explanation is that one is responsible for the miseries one suffers. If
I set the wheel in motion, I am responsible for the result. And if I can bring misery, I can
also stop it. It necessarily follows that we are free. There is no such thing as fate. There
is nothing to compel us. What we have done, that we can undo." (The Complete Works
of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 1, Lectures and Discourses, Soul, God, and Religion)